Owens & Anor v Grose & Anor

Owens & Anor v Grose & Anor

The publications of the letter dated 21 September 2013 to both Goadsby and DSL were on occasions of qualified privilege, and there was no evidence fit to be tried on malice. Therefore, the defence of qualified privilege succeeded and the claim was dismissed by granting reverse summary judgment to the defendants.

Parties
Claimant: Stephen Trevor Owens; Claimant: Abigail Diana Owens; Defendant: Steven Grose; Defendant: Virginia Grose
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
27 March 2015
Procedural Posture
Civil Appeal / Appeal From Interlocutory Judgment (summary Judgment/strike Out Application)
Outcome
Appeal allowed; claim dismissed by reverse summary judgment.
Legal Topics
Qualified Privilege, Summary Judgment, Abuse of Process (jameel), Malice, Publication, Libel
Defamation Civil Procedure Qualified Privilege Summary Judgment Abuse of Process (jameel) Malice Publication Libel

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 4 Authorities cited 11 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 5
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Stephen Trevor Owens

Claimant

Abigail Diana Owens

Claimant

Steven Grose

Defendant

Virginia Grose

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Appeal / Appeal From Interlocutory Judgment (summary Judgment/strike Out Application)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the publications to Goadsby and DSL were on occasions of qualified privilege
  2. 2 Whether there was any prospect of proving malice to defeat qualified privilege
  3. 3 Whether the claim was a Jameel abuse of process

Ratio Decidendi

The publications of the letter dated 21 September 2013 to both Goadsby and DSL were on occasions of qualified privilege, and there was no evidence fit to be tried on malice. Therefore, the defence of qualified privilege succeeded and the claim was dismissed by granting reverse summary judgment to the defendants.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed; claim dismissed by reverse summary judgment.

Orders

  • Reverse summary judgment granted to defendants
  • Claim by Mr and Mrs Owens dismissed